


Between You and Me

by GoodbyeLeo (Kozmotittspitchiner)



Category: GOT7
Genre: M/M, Unrequited Love, unrated for now but who knows what will happen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-20
Updated: 2015-11-23
Packaged: 2018-05-02 14:38:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5251988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kozmotittspitchiner/pseuds/GoodbyeLeo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was all smooth 'n groovy to be in love with his best friend until Jackson's best friend and his boyfriend break up. He loves him, but because he does, Jackson tries to get to the bottom of their break up. What he discovers makes him hate being an idol for the first time in his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I write this for my bestie and read it to her each week because she lets me live at her place three days a week for Uni - so this is not pure quality, and wasn't intended to be posted, but since there's already many chapters written I thought I'd share. She said to name this story "How to break Anne's heart in 2000 words again and again" so prepare for a lot of feelings. And hurt Jackson. But also silly scenes and light humor, so, chin up!

“Ahh...so cozy.” No. No, it would be cozy if there wasn't a guinea pig of a dog breathing right into his face and resting between them, his paws (no, claws) pressing into his chest and neck in a way that makes Jackson halfway sure the animal is planning to secretively suffocate him. But Mark likes it this way, and officially, the things Mark likes are the things that he likes. 

“Yeah.” He comments half-heartedly, his arm easily (who is he kidding? His arm is just as short as the rest of him and he can't feel it anymore) reaching around Mark and his fingertips having a hard time to gently brush over his shoulder blades, but doing so anyway. The TV is playing in the background, show me the money, or more like 'show me the drama', pausing for what seems like endless adverts. 

Just like stupidly cute Coco, there are many things that stand between him and Mark, but as opposed to the smelly being that is actually present, they're see-through, much more complicated and most important of all unsolvable. Some of them are nosy and he can hear them giggle and joke from where their wardrobe is. Yugyeom started some video blogging thing that no one outside their dorm can know about because it 'doesn't follow the rules of what they're allowed to publish' and Bambam immediately was all over it anyway and he can hear him brag about gifts he got from one or the other brand even over the summary of what has already happened in SMTM that just about started. “We all know you got sugar daddies, can you tone it down??” he shouts, and as he twists his neck around to look into their general direction, he can see nothing but a middle finger wriggling before it's pulled back again and more laughing follows. 

This is 'real' Got7 and this is part of what nobody (and yet everybody) knows, just like the fact that he's got a huge unadulterated crush on Mark. A few months ago, it hadn't been too bad. It seems ironic, that after Mark's sudden breakup with Jinyoung a few months ago, 'Markson', too, started to become more distant. Emotionally. Outwardly, they're lying on top of each other and watch TV, but once the door of their shared room is closed, Mark just gathers his sleeping clothes, leaves for the shower and slips into bed. He hardly even talks to him anymore, but he was hoping if he just ignored it and they kept acting like they always do in front of the kids, it would just pass. Like heartache is supposed to just pass. 

Not that Jackson is prone to heartache. It was easy, it always had been, to just love Mark in a way that everyone thought was okay and watch him be happy with his boyfriend, who was more than just an okay-guy from around the corner but more like family, so it felt like loving your sibling rather than the pretty boy who roomed with you. With the breakup, the premises changed. 

“Oh my god. They can't do that! They can't just bring Blacknut back like that?? That's like... mental torture!! This is psychological warfare! Even I'm feeling attacked! Oh god Jackson, I'm going to cry!” 

A few pats of his palm. “There there.” 

“Aren't you touched??? You have no soul!” 

No, Mark, you're the one who has no soul and puts up an act up until the point that we're alone. Jackson thinks and just huffs, before letting out a strangled sound. 

“What is it? Are you touched? I'm so touched too!!” 

“Coco is-- penetrating-- my adam's apple--” 

Mark just laughs and removes the puppy from him. But as he removes the puppy, he removes himself too and in that same moment Yugyeom and Bambam enter the room and drop themselves on the couch, right between them. He's not even able to grieve how cold he suddenly feels because both of them are in their underwear. 

“Uhm...why are you naked?” 

Bambam just raises his index finger and presses it right onto his lips. “Shhhh. The new episode will air soon and you will know~” 

“The episode won't air. You will send it to us in our Kakao group chat and absolutely nobody will look at it.” 

“I know for a fact that JB looks at them!!” 

“Yeah. For fapping-materal.” 

Bambam's eyes blow wide and he's looking like a cookoo that's currently overdosing as he puffs up his cheeks and grabs his heart in a dramatic gesture. “Why are you so mean???? I'm gonna cry!” 

“Just give up, Jackson's got no soul~” Mark hums, his entire focus on Coco as he's petting her lovingly, messing up her eyebrows and brushing them back into order again and again. 

“At least I got clothes on.” He quips and just gets up, brushing through his hair in a way that he hopes looks nonchalant and cool. He leaves for the bathroom and enters it whilst considering his life decisions. It's when he already opened his jeans that he realizes that he's standing in front of Junior, who's sitting on the toilet and looking up at him like he's holding him at gunpoint. “Uhm... okay. Okay, you didn't lock the door. That's cool. I'll just like-” 

Jinyoung wipes himself clean and gets up, holding eye contact with him to make sure Jackson doesn't look anywhere else before he's got his package hidden. It's kinda confusing, so he shuts up. 

“How is he?” 

“What? Your dick? I didn't look man... why're you using pronouns for it anyway, that's kinda--” 

“Mark. How's Mark?” There's hurt in his eyes as he asks, brows furrowed and seriousness making him look uptight and somehow paler than ever. Or did he even pay attention to how Jinyoung was doing lately? Not really, anyway, since he was rooming with his ex and kind of siding with him. 

“Good, I guess.” 

“Don't lie to me, Jackson.” 

“This conversation is kiiiind of awkward to have where we pee.” He's stubbornly re-directing his gaze somewhere to the ground. 

“Please, just tell me the truth. I need to know. I can't even sleep.” 

“Why don't you go and ask him yourself, okay? I don't wanna get involved into anything that's not my business.” 

“I would. If I could. Come on, tell me.” 

“Why the hell can't you??” 

“...he's...not talking to me anymore as long as no cameras are rolling.” 

“Why not?” Jackson feels a sickening feeling at the bottom of his stomach, but he can't quite pinpoint why. They broke up, it should be natural that they're not talking. 

“Because he's not allowed to.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jackson is forced to deal with the brutal truth.

His mouth falls open. He reckoned with anything, like that Junior cheated on Mark and that's why they weren't talking, or maybe that it was vice versa or whatever the fuck couples got themselves into before a breakup, so all the statement does is leaving him confused and shocked. “What the actual fuck.” is all that comes to his mind. 

“I wasn't supposed to... just forget it...” Jinyoung looks utterly devastated now, like he's on the verge of tears, and it's a lot like seeing one of your parents cry for the first time – someone that's outta be strong suddenly isn't anymore and you have no idea what to say. 

“It's okay, man, really. If this is what I think it is you got every right to rant.” He says quickly, mostly just to say anything that doesn't contain the word 'fuck' and reaches out to put a (what he hopes) soothing hand on his shoulder. 

“Not practically speaking.” Jinyoung adds, and Jackson really hopes he's going to spill the beans soon instead of beating around the bush, because otherwise he's just going to burn JYP down like he's the mother (father, maybe) of dragons. “...they found us...” his gaze just flickers somewhere into a bottom corner – obviously this is not safe for work, and saying these things out loud just isn't Junior's style. “...doing things...” Bingo. “...in the toilet at the company cafeteria.” 

“Woah, okay, why would you? That place is filthy!” Jackson reminisces and realizes a second too late that that wasn't very tactful. “...I mean, and then? They just...ordered you to break up?” 

“Yeah, that's how you can summarize it. They told us not to do stuff ever again, but of course be nice to each other on camera, but not too nice so no one suspects a thing.” 

Now that he is thinking about it, Mark was sort of sitting around alone a lot on camera right now, instead of sitting on one of them, like he usually did. “...that's just wrong...” he murmurs lamely, still unsure what to say or how to act. “...so you still love each other?” Why, why, why does that sting so much? He should have been happy he found an explanation for Mark's weird behavior these days, and that the love of his life still loved him, but instead he has to try overly hard not to make a bitchface right now. He's a terrible human being. 

“Of course...” Jinyoung answers in a tone that makes his heart clench even harder. “So...how is he? How is he really??” 

Twenty more minutes in the bathroom, and Jackson told Junior every little detail about how Mark was behaving. He was pretty sure Jinyoung had stopped himself from breaking into tears about three times. Afterward, they awkwardly said goodbye and Jackson remained in the bathroom for a few minutes longer to do what people do on the toilet, whilst still trying to think of a thing to do. They could all just try to quit or play Les Miserables and revolt, but seeing that this was their career they were talking about and that the scandal would never ever leave them alone, Jackson didn't really approve of that idea. 

Once he gets out, he's greeted by the sight of Coco, tiny and white and still stupidly cute, wagging her little tail so her little butt wriggled around with it and aw fuck-- He bends down to pet her, just absorbing the love of that dumb little thing to make himself feel better. That had probably been what Mark had been doing all along, just making himself feel better, and Jackson had been jealous of the freaking dog instead of realizing it. He's the worst best friend ever. 

Best friend. That's just what Mark needs right now, not some tiny boy with a big ego and an even bigger crush on him, just a best friend. So he decided to attack. 

He follows Mark into the gym to get a moment alone with him and have some serious talk over some biceps-building, but as he gets there, he's greeted by the obscene sight of Bambam sitting on Jaebum's back like a Victorian lady while he does push ups. Mark is filming it, laughing. 

The sound of that particular laughter goes right into his heart and he feels himself losing some of the tension that he came here with, a slow smile slipping onto his face as he steps over. “You know the only reason you can lift him is that he's underweight?” He teases Jaebum (in an amiable way, of course), but suddenly Mark, still holding up his phone as the camera in the one hand, interferes. 

“We're filming for V App right now Jackson, watch your mouth!!” Ah, Jackson thinks, so that's why you're laughing. He frowns and steps back a little, silently watching the scene in front of him as Jaebum breaks down and Bambam seemingly falls over laughing. It all seems so fake right now. Not that he doesn't like 'fake' most of the time. He loves variety and he loves being silly for the sake of laughter and he loves being seen, but he just can't get himself to love faked happiness while having been forbidden to keep seeing your boyfriend – keep seeing anyone, for that matter. 

Mark's eyes flicker towards him and meet his that moment. When Mark thinks very hard, he gets that tiny dent right between his eyebrows and he's getting it right now. Jackson shakes his head, essentially meaning something along the lines of 'not now'. It's amazing to him that they manage to communicate without actually using words. Mark is the only person in the world except for his mom that can basically read his thoughts. 

The filming continues for a while and Jackson slips into the picture, demonstrating some of his workout routines by pretending to teach them to Bambam, who imitates every of his movements with a showgirl smile. The stream is done soon after that, with everyone having been on camera at least once. They still aren't left alone, though, because Jaebum suggests to go get some chicken and no one can say no to getting some chicken. 

As they stand in front of the counter of the cheap store just around their corner, Jackson watches Jinyoung watch Mark, while Mark looks away. It's like a tragedy, really. Youngjae suddenly tells everyone he'd rather like burgers than chicken, though, giving all of them a chance to just shout at him. Still, Jackson can't help but feel off. He's not in the mood to shout or laugh. 

Luckily, no one notices until they're back at the dorm and Bambam and Yugyeom pull him into a quiet corner. 

“Hyuuung, we were wondering if you wanna help us with something.” Bambam starts and Yugyeom nods along sheepishly. 

“Depends on what that something entails, really.” He replies slowly, eying them both to try and figure out where all of this is going. 

“We need a third man for a threesome.” Yugyeom says blandly. 

“No.” 

“You can't just say no!! Listen to the terms and conditions first!” 

“Terms and conditions??? This isn't like I'm agreeing to log into free WiFi!” 

Bambam and Yugyeom seem taken aback, and he uses the moment to just press past the two of them and hurry away, swearing under his breath. 'What the fuck' seems to be the most fitting description of this day. 

He enters Mark's and his room in a hurry, just dropping himself on his bed in utter frustration, taking in a perfect 'OTL' position, just as he hears the door open. 

“...you okay?” 

“Mnhhhehh.” Jackson replies, face pressed into the pillow. Suddenly, he can feel a gentle hand on the small of his back and how a warm body presses against his, hugging him despite of how weirdly they're positioned. 

“You've been off today. What's up?” Mark asks softly, and damn Mark's soft voice, damn his nice smell and friendly ways. He's the one to ask! He's the one who's off! Why is it so damn difficult for Jackson to start any conversation if he knows it's going to be emotional?? 

“Bambam and Yugyeom just invited me to a threesome, that's up.” He mumbles and sneaks out of the embrace to turn around. Evidently, Mark is confused. 

“And did you accept the invitation?” 

“Hell no! Why'd you even ask that, geesh.” 

“Good.” 

“What do you mean, 'good'?” 

Instead of replying, Mark just sits down on the edge of the bed, pulling him into a one armed hug. “Is that really all that's up?” 

“You're...ugh, Mark.” 

Mark's fingers soothingly run through his hair. “It's okay Jacks, just tell me.” 

“I should be the one hugging you. I should be the one asking you if you're okay. I'm just such a shitty friend and I'm sorry.” 

Suddenly, Mark's face hardens and he turns it away. “...I have no idea what you're talking about...” 

“No idea?? Your ex-- your boyfriend almost started crying after I ran into him on the toilet!” 

Apparently that's enough to break whatever Mark has been holding onto and two seconds later he feels him sob into his shoulder. Slowly, he raises his hand to run it over Mark's back and he feels like he's watching the two of them from above. 

“What'd... what'd he say...?” 

“He mostly just asked me how you are, really.” That just makes Mark sob so hard he can't really talk, so he lets him cry it out. Maybe it's better this way, getting this out of Mark had been easier than he thought. Surprisingly easy. Though he's not sure if this makes him feel any better. What can he say? 'Don't be sad, I love you' would be just pathetic. 

They stay like this for a while until Jackson can convince Mark to just go to sleep with him instead of turning away and not talking to him like he did during the past weeks. Mark is so exhausted from crying that he just complies with everything he says like a little, torn rag doll. He falls asleep in his arms, too, nestled up against his chest like he needs Jackson's warmth to fall asleep. Jackson, who just lies there, staring up at the ceiling and carding his fingers through Mark's soft hair and across his back. Maybe, if he stays with him long enough, Mark will realize that he needs him, he thinks, surrounded by the scent of his hair and pacified by his steady breathing. Wishful thinking. The more Jackson is like this, he'll think it's okay to be this way, he knows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned for more of that Drama (I wrote it like mini drama episodes for my friend, really) drop by again and comment if you liked or hated anything in particular. ♥


End file.
